Vanguard Group Inc. Decreases Holdings in Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. (NYSE:AXTA)

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. holds a significant position in Axalta Coating Systems Ltd., with a 10.83% stake amounting to approximately $785.06 million, despite reducing its holdings by 0.6% in the first quarter.
• Multiple hedge funds have either increased or established new stakes in Axalta, indicating strong interest from institutional investors, who collectively own 98.28% of the company's shares.
• Analysts have a mixed outlook on Axalta, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $37.71, down from previous targets set by various investment banks.

Vanguard Group Inc. reduced its position in shares of Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. (NYSE:AXTA - Free Report) by 0.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,667,768 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 143,036 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 10.83% of Axalta Coating Systems worth $785,060,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its position in Axalta Coating Systems by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 12,242 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $419,000 after purchasing an additional 343 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in Axalta Coating Systems by 12.1% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 3,704 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $123,000 after purchasing an additional 401 shares during the period. Xponance Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Axalta Coating Systems by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 25,360 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $841,000 after acquiring an additional 407 shares during the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its stake in Axalta Coating Systems by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 13,691 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $469,000 after purchasing an additional 431 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Axalta Coating Systems by 105.9% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 949 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 488 shares in the last quarter. 98.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on AXTA. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Axalta Coating Systems from $46.00 to $40.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. BMO Capital Markets downgraded shares of Axalta Coating Systems from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $51.00 to $33.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Axalta Coating Systems from $37.00 to $34.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Axalta Coating Systems from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $42.00 to $32.00 in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Axalta Coating Systems from $39.00 to $35.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $37.71.

Axalta Coating Systems Trading Down 0.7%

AXTA stock traded down $0.22 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $30.40. The company had a trading volume of 3,771,219 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,203,483. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 2.12 and a quick ratio of 1.53. The company has a market capitalization of $6.58 billion, a PE ratio of 14.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.27. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $29.72 and a 200 day moving average of $32.10. Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. has a 12 month low of $27.58 and a 12 month high of $41.65.

Axalta Coating Systems (NYSE:AXTA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.33 billion. Axalta Coating Systems had a net margin of 8.58% and a return on equity of 25.32%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.57 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Axalta Coating Systems Profile

Axalta Coating Systems Ltd., through its subsidiaries, manufactures, markets, and distributes high-performance coatings systems in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia Pacific, and Latin America. The company operates through two segments, Performance Coatings and Mobility Coatings.